First it was Bill Clinton, hounded by his hound-dog tendencies and mired in MonicaGate, who made a sweep of our fair city in 1998, pausing only long enough to scarf a cannoli at Scano's.

Now it's President Barack Obama, who arrives tomorrow to upstage the star-struck graduates of Worcester Technical High School at the DCU Center, just as controversy simmers over the rescue of an American soldier in Afghanistan.

While Worcester whines about disruption and downtown detours, the partisans denounce the visit on ideological grounds and local wags question the odds of Air Force One landing successfully at Worcester Regional Airport, I humbly suggest we keep our eye on the presidential prize and suck it up.

So does local Democratic operative John Brissette.

"People are always complaining about downtown Worcester, that nothing ever happens there," he noted. "Now we are bringing a sitting United States president to our downtown, and everyone complains. I guess it's what we do. Some people are only happy if they're complaining."

Which brings me to Bowe Bergdahl and the right wing.

As most of you know, Bergdahl is the 28-year-old soldier who was rescued May 31 in a prison swap with the Taliban. He's being treated in a military hospital in Germany amid a raging debate about whether Obama should have released five Taliban officials from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a single soldier who may have deserted his post before his capture in 2009.

Legitimate questions need to be answered, and we're learning more about this fascinating saga every day. Reasonable people can debate whether the president did the right thing, whether it was worth the release of terrorists to bring home a soldier who may not have clothed himself in glory.

But that's not what is happening. The right has become adept at using every tactic in its arsenal to smear the president, and this latest "scandal" is tailor-made for the critics who claim that Barack Hussein Obama is somehow ... un-American. That he sympathizes with Muslims and anti-Americans such as Bergdahl and his Islamic-looking dad. That his loyalty isn't to the U.S., as evidenced by his liberation of evil terrorists for an American traitor.

Despite the fact that reporting on the Bergdahl story is complex and at times contradictory, some in the right have already rendered a verdict.

"We know what he did," former Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey told Fox News. "You can't wait to try a case until you know absolutely everything about everything."

The headline in the Daily Caller reads like this: "Obama Submits to Taliban Demands." And here's this odious gem, from Michelle Malkin:

"The Bowe Bergdahl mess isn't just a story about one deserter, but two." The second, in her mind, is the president of the United States.

The military should investigate whether Bergdahl was a deserter and impose military justice if he was. But first, we brought him home. That's what civilized societies do. We don't leave American soldiers to rot in metal cages with the Taliban.

Yet, the ring wing has already portrayed Bergdahl as a 21st-century Benedict Arnold. These are the same people who portray Obama as a Kenyan and American Hitler who's after everyone's guns.

In any case, tomorrow he's coming to Worcester. And it's not a day for politics, but for civic pride.

"Worcester should open our arms and welcome him," Brissette said. "These kids will remember this for the rest of their lives."

CDL A DELIVERY DRIVERS Home Every Night! Needed for our Worcester Depot! Drive local - No more spending valuable nights away from your family! As a Direct Store Delivery Representative YOU have the opportunity to make a difference with our customers! Provide excellent customer service; interact in a positive manner with our customers; deliver our products to local stores. Be home every night! Work for a Company that has been around for over 80 years! Minimum of 3 months driving experience with CDL A/B; GED or HS diploma required; Must be able to drive a standard transmission. EEO/Veteran/Disability Growing Strong Since1933!